This is a continuation of the public Question & Answer session held by the U.S. Mint in conjunction with the New Mexico State Quarter release. Part 1 covers questions about coin design and Presidential Dollars, plus Ed Moy's opening statements (which include a lot of news about upcoming plans for the Mint.)
Questions About Pennies
What can the U.S. Mint do to stop losing money striking pennies? Why can't they be made from steel? Steel isn't the panacea some people think it is. Steel is a very hard metal, and striking coins in it means we'd have to create more dies due to shorter die life, which would offset the perceived savings. In addition, how do we know that steel won't be the next metal to rise rapidly in price? Ideally, the Mint shouldn't be locked into any one certain metal or alloy, but able to adjust as necessary.
Has the Mint thought about making pennies from something non-metallic, such as paper or plastic? One very important thing that the Mint must keep in mind is that the weight of the new pennies needs to remain the same as the old ones.
Why can't the Mint just stop making pennies if they're no longer profitable? The Mint does not have the authority to eliminate the penny. If citizens no longer want the penny to be made, they should communicate this through their elected representatives in Congress. Only Congress has the authority to determine the coin denominations we use.
Is there anything at all that the Mint can do about the penny situation? Moy said that he has committed himself to providing Congress with a plan to reduce the cost of making pennies and nickels. The best solution is to give the Mint the authority to determine the metals used in these coins, and be able to change them as conditions warrant. Moy said his primary goal in this effort is to save taxpayers money.
State Quarters and Miscellaneous Questions
Hasn't the Statehood Quarter program been profitable for the Mint? The 50 State Quarterstm program has been very profitable for taxpayers. Quarter production during the program has been way up over previous levels due to increased demand, and the seigniorage made on these coins has been great for taxpayers. The educational benefits of the State Quarters have been great, too. (Ed: Seigniorage is the profit that the Mint makes striking coins. For instance, the Presidential Dollar costs 16 cents each to make. Since the face value is $1.00, the Mint makes 84 cents in seigniorage for each dollar coin struck. See Current Costs to Strike U.S. Coins.)
Do you think that the New Mexico State Quarter will be accepted by Americans everywhere? Absolutely! The Zia Sun Symbol on the New Mexico Quarter is the first time a Native American symbol has been used on our coinage, and many people are very excited about it. People all over the country will be looking for the New Mexico Quarter to add to their collections, too.
Does the U.S. Mint still distribute those penny collecting boards? We no longer have the penny boards, but we do have State Quarter and Presidential Dollar collecting boards available.
Are there any plans to discontinue the Half Dollar? It doesn't circulate and nobody uses it. Although these is little demand in commerce for this coin, the Half Dollar is still struck for collectors every year.
Do you ever plan to bring back the circulating Half Dollar? At this time, Congress is not discussing any circulation plans for the Half Dollar.
Does the U.S. Mint still strike coins for other nations? Not at the present. The Mint operates at full capacity right now just making the coins for America. (Ed: About half the Mint's annual 15 billion coin output is devoted to pennies. If we eliminated the penny, there would suddenly be a lot of extra capacity at the Mint!)
How did you get interested in coins, Mr. Moy? Are you a collector? Moy said that when he was a youth, he would run the cash register for his parents' Chinese restaurant. He was always on the lookout for interesting or unusual coins because he found them to be artistic and historic. The power and beauty of coins can inspire the imagination!
